The Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ze’ev Elkin, who was Netanyahu’s translator and attended a Tuesday meeting, said that Netanyahu and Putin have a “credible” relationship, noting that Netanyahu is “using” it.

Elkin said that there is “no contradiction” between Netanyahu’s relations with Putin and his relations with the US President Barak Obama.

Regarding the security cooperation between the Russian and Israeli armies, Elkin said that Russia runs the forces in Syria, not the United States.

He said: “Therefore, if we wanted free aviation for our aerial forces in Lebanon and Syria and if we wanted to maintain the security and political interests of Israeli citizens, the Russians are our target.”

Netanyahu started a three-day visit to Moscow on Monday. It is his fourth and longest visit to the capital since the start of 2016.